Unfinished
by KyuubiKid2468
Summary: After being tortured and experimented on for 3 years after constant beatings from the villagers, will Naruto finally escape? Where would he go?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters

As Naruto lay on the rubbish strewn alley floor only one thought swirled through his semi-conscious mind; 'Why do I put up with this'? Every day he lived with the cold, disgusted faces of all the villagers that looked upon him. Even after the hands and feet were rammed into his face on various occasions he simply woke up the next morning as if nothing had ever happened. Of course, this was due partially to the incredible healing ability that his body had been blessed with-he still did not understand how his 12 year old body could be bruised and battered one day, and completely whole the next. However (incredible healing aside)he himself was nice and happy the next day-smiling obnoxiously into space- because one day he hoped to show the villagers how amazing he was by becoming the Hokage, everyone would look up to him then. Becoming the Hokage did NOT happen by being scared or mean towards the villagers he was sure, what good would that do him anyway? He shivered in the cold night air, the chill wind waking him up fully and making him think that he should head back to his apartment soon before he caught pneumonia or something. He wasn't too well versed in illnesses or anything really apart from training…and ramen. One day he hoped that his training would pay off and he would be able to at least be able to out run the torches and knives when he accidently came out of Ichiraku a bit late. Sighing at his stupidity he pulled he broken body off of the floor and started walking the blocks to his house. He had been running for cover at his apartment before mistakenly turning down an alley and-painfully- paying for his mistake when it turned out to be a dead end. As he walked down the dark, deserted streets, his sensitive ears picked up the sound of quiet footsteps moving somewhere behind him. He panicked slightly and sped up until he could go no faster lest he run. He was worried that one of the villagers had decided that they hadn't finished with him yet. Whilst one villager wouldn't be hard to beat up, Naruto didn't want to start fighting at this time of night. The only reason he wasn't actually running was because he was hoping that the person hadn't spotted him yet and so did not want to alert them to his presence. Just as he turned the corner to the street his house was on he heard voices coming down the previous road. "They said he'd be lying around here somewhere", a snake like voice hissed not ten metres away. "He was meant to be unconscious," a second voice echoed to Naruto's ear. This voice sounded very analytical, with no emotion set in its icy tone. Even Naruto could tell that they were referring to him, but he didn't think that the voices belonged to any of the villagers hate filled murmurs. The village's ninja had never come after him before, something he was very glad of. Scared to stick around any longer, Naruto tiptoed to his apartment building and hurried upstairs to his flat. He wasn't sure whether or not the people knew where he lived but he wouldn't have had time to power (quietly) through the next street before the strangers rounded the corner. He didn't know why but for some reason the voices leaked fear into mind like drop of black ink. He thought about trying to get a message to his newly formed sensei, Hatake Kakashi, but he told himself that he was just being stupid. He didn't want to wake kakashi on a whim. His sensei would surely just get very annoyed at him and start hating him like everyone else.

"Was that him?" The white haired man questioned his companion after hearing muffled footsteps in the nearest street. "Seems like it", hissed the dark haired, soundingly authorative, figure. Together they vanished towards the whisper of a softly closing door.

In his apartment Naruto flopped straight down onto his bed, wanting to get out of the painful reality of his injuries as soon as he was able. Sighing at the horrible taste left from the blood in his mouth after a rather hard kick to his jaw had been delivered because of his 'disgusting existence', Naruto rolled out of bed and limped into the adjoining bathroom to clean his teeth-which he was happy to feel were all still there. When he turned off the tap after his mouth no longer tasted quite so horrible he thought he heard the sound of one of the floor boards creaking in the kitchen. He paused with his hand on the doorknob, planning to jump out and scare the intruder half to death. Just as he was about to bang open the door his mind went back to the two strangers he had heard talking not 10 minutes ago. Did they know where he lived?! Naruto may put on a brave face in public but right now with no-one to pretend for? Naruto was deathly afraid. He knew that to be a ninja was to rid himself of all fear but with the pair's hellish voices and cold words in his head he could do nothing but stay frozen to the spot. His ears pricked up at every whooshing of the wind waiting for the sound of voices that would prove his theory correct.

"Hello Naruto-kun."

The voice was much closer than he would have liked-about 100 yards closer-and he felt no satisfaction about being right for once. He spun around to face his fear, realising as he did so that he had not considered anyone coming in through the small bathroom window that sat high up on the wall. Especially not the fully grown konoha ninja standing before him now. As he looked up into the man's face he heard the door crack open behind him as the other sneaker (presumably another ninja) came to stand in its frame.


	2. Chapter 2

Orochimaru had for months been planning how he could use the nine tailed fox boy in his various projects. Being so close to finally starting his carefully planned experiment had him caught up in a sense of excited anticipation. He would have taken the child at an earlier stage-meaning as soon as he had heard who the fox was sealed into- had it not been for the very low survival rate that children seemed to have when participating in his work. Being around twelve put the boy up for a good chance of giving his experiments useful, long lasting results. He would turn the fox into an obedient weapon, using it to take down certain groups and towns at his bidding! (Namely the akatsuki and Konoha). He would then move to taking everything as his own. The whole world would be his to experiment on in excess. He only really had need of the shinobi as ordinary people were useless without chakra to call upon. First however he must take the boy to his lab and bring the beginning of his plan into fruition. To get into the village unnoticed he had taken on the appearance of his former conquest and donned his old leaf hitai-ate. After dark he had returned his face to normal as he disliked having another's looks. He hadn't bothered with switching the leaf headband for his own sound symbol.

Naruto was practically begging his panicked mind to calm down enough so that he could think of a useful plan. At the moment he was trapped in his small bathroom with one wooden door behind him and a tiny window opposite. The door was blocked by a white haired man with a mean smile and glasses, whilst the window was too small for any part of his body to fit through. He didn't waste any time trying to figure out how the dark haired creepo standing in front of him had managed to wriggle himself in. The only thing he could think of doing was to get a message to his team 7 sensei Kakashi-he now desperately wished that he had listened to his earlier instinct on that matter. At any rate how could he possibly get a message to Kakashi when he was stuck in here with two pairs of eyes that didn't look as though they ever had any intention of leaving him? Eyes that didn't look like they were going to wait for him to conjure up a plan. He wondered what they were planning to do with him, though their sneaky, unfriendly manner suggested either kill or kidnap. It was then that a tricky idea came into his head.

Both Naruto and creepy glasses moved at the same time. Glasses had grabbed a syringe from his back pouch and was holding it ready to jab. Naruto had jumped to the side to give himself some room and shouted,

"KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

Immediately a clone appeared either side of him and the three of them threw themselves at glasses and his repellent needle, hoping for at least one of them to get past. One didn't make it to the door as he was stamped on by the dark haired ninja. The next went down with a fist to the face by glasses. The last got a needle to the heart and stood shocked for a moment before crumpling down at their feet.

"Pfft. I never thought a Jinchuriki could be this weak."

Kabuto sneered down at the unconscious blonde, wiping the needle on a cloth before putting it back in his pouch.

"Do you think it would make a difference if he knew that the Kyuubi was inside of him Orochimaru sama?"

"It had better", replied the dark haired man, "Because there is no way that we could turn _this_ into the power that we need." His voice had an almost laugh like quality to it.

With the unfortunate boy slung over his shoulder and the night to shroud his figure, Orochimaru and his companion set off to start their experiments. Only the dawn of the new day could reveal Naruto's disappearance to those who cared and by then the morning rain would have washed away all hope of trying to follow them. Due to his sudden disappearance and no evidence on the contrary, Naruto's lack of presence could have been put down to an easily understandable child runaway. That would have indeed been the case had Naruto's last plan failed. He had been complaining for ages about the loose carpet that stuck up at the seam between the bedroom and bathroom that he kept tripping over. He had already been drafting a note to Kakashi about the creepy guys before 1: he had realised that he had no idea where Kakashi lived, 2: he had no way to send the not even if he did know, 3: he didn't want to disturb Kakashi anyway. These three points had ensured that the letter be stuffed in his pocket and forgotten about until he needed it later. Attacking his attackers had been a simple ploy to distract them enough to not notice him slip the letter under the carpet where he knew any attentive ninja could find it. He did not expect the numbness that came with being on the other end of the needle, but even so he had managed to hide the note before his conscious mind slipped away whilst lying on the floor. So even though the ninja's had no way of finding him they knew that they had to seriously try to find him.


	3. Chapter 3

As six am dawned bright and early, two newly made shinobi arrived at one of the Konoha training grounds-their pre-arranged meeting point. The bubble gum pink haired kunoichi was obsessing over being alone with her childhood crush and the hottest guy she had ever laid eyes on-Uchiha Sasuke. During her internal shouting to make herself stay cool and ask him out, said raven haired boy was torn between being annoyed at his jounin sensei Kakashi and wondering about his ever hyper and enthusiastic teammate/rival who he would have expected to the first one to drag himself into tis clearing to start his ninja work. 'Perhaps his alarm clock didn't go off and he was still snoring away in is bed', and that ended is thoughts on Naruto for the minute. Around two hours later, long after Sakura had collapsed on the ground (her legs and her mind complaining far too much to even think about staying upright) the masked ninja finally decided to make an appearance. Sakura had a few things to shout at him whilst Sasuke was now solely focused on the missing blonde who would most certainly be awake by now. Kakashi finally managed to extract himself from the ranting 12 year old and begin his training instructions, before he noticed that Naruto was missing. He looked at Sasuke who shrugged to show that he had no idea where the trouble making boy had gone. Kakashi now asked the now curious Sakura about him and came up with another blank.

"I'm going to go check his apartment. Sasuke will you go and check the Ramen shop? Sakura stay here in case he shows up. Meet back here straight after."

As soon as he had extracted two understanding nods from the Gennin he vanished in a whirl of leaves. In about a minute he had reached Naruto's apartment and-though he tried hard- he could neither hear nor sense anything from within. He ran around the wall to the window leading into the boy's bedroom and found it wide open, the hinges creaking each time the wind picked up. Jumping into the room he could not find anything out of the ordinary. The bed was creased, the covers strewn across the mattress. Taking the loud mouthed boy into consideration however, he could not decide whether the bed had been recently slept in or not. He wondered through the rooms but could not find any sign of Naruto. As he had told the three recent graduates not to eat breakfast today, he did not find it odd that there were no plates or leftover food from a morning meal. Thinking that he had best get back to the other two in case they had fared any better, he left the apartment and its uninformative rooms behind. Had he suspected any sign of foul play he would have search the blonde's rooms thoroughly and would most likely have stumbled upon the dust collecting note waiting for him.

Any hopes Kakashi had about Naruto were dashed as he returned to the grounds to find only a very worried looking pair waiting for him. He sighed internally as he told them that he would go and speak to the Hokage about it and to keep an eye out for Naruto. He rushed over village roofs and straight to a huge round building with a large fire symbol placed on the front, jumping through a window on the middle of the top floor.

"Sandaime I must urgently speak with you." He blurted out.

The third Hokage's ears perked up immediately. Rare were the times when he found Kakashi this flustered. He nodded to indicate that Kakashi continue.

"It's Naruto, he didn't turn up for training this morning and I can't find him."

"He didn't turn up? Is he at his house?"

"No. He's also not at the ramen shop and I can't imagine him going anywhere else."

The Hokage thought for a moment.

"I can't imagine him not turning up for training…" He muttered. "Anbu!"

At the call two masked figures dropped down from the ceiling.

"Search Naruto's apartment, see if you can find anything. Kakashi you go with them, your skills might come in handy for this.

"Hai!"

The three ninja spoke and left as one.

Meanwhile deep in the sound a secret hideout has just gained a new resident…

The first thing Naruto noticed was that he was lying on a cold hard surface. Upon trying to sit up he discovered that his arms and legs were tied with something strong and rough, he could still move his head and shoulders enough to see that leather cords strapped him to a shiny metal table. Around him were vials and glass jars filled with strange liquids and objects, one looked as though it might hold a wrinkled severed hand. He looked away before he could see any more; a sick feeling had already started rolling around in his stomach. What he now assumed was some sort of lab was encased in dark, pitted stone walls. A computer and desk sat over to one side, sat on the chair typing away was a man with white hair tied in a ponytail. The light above him wasn't on so his vision was limited, but from the glow of the computer he could guess that this was the man from his apartment. Fear took hold of him then. 'What happened?' He asked himself. 'I managed to leave the note but… I don't remember coming here. I wonder what time it is, would anyone have found the note yet?' He realised that he was hyperventilating and tried to calm his breathing, hoping that the man hadn't noticed his conscious state. He started to twist his wrists in the bindings so as to loosen them but no matter how hard he tugged he couldn't get his arms free. The man finished his typing and left his chair. Naruto held his breath as the man walked toward the door, then fell disappointed as he stopped at one of the gruesome shelves. He picked up what looked like a couple of vials with pointy things on the end… Naruto gulped, he hated needles ever since he had had his first injection in the ninja academy against some sort of virus. It certainly hadn't helped that he had been stabbed by one in the stomach which seemed to him only minutes ago. Naruto stared, eyes wide as the man approached an empty needle in one hand and 5 corked test tubes in the other. Naruto was confused for a moment before he realised that the only thing plausible was for the man to be drawing blood. He had never had this before but he had heard from complaints that it was certainly a pain in the arm. The man put the flasks down on a square surface next to Naruto's table. The man held Naruto's lower arm tightly between his fingers as he located one of the veins which, for an accomplished medical ninja such as him, didn't take long to find. Thanks to the restraining hand on his arm Naruto could not wriggle his away-his wrists were almost bleeding from pulling at the tight cords. He felt a sharp prick as the needle sunk into his skin. As the man pulled at the end of the syringe Naruto had to bite his lip hard to stop from shouting out. There was a moment of a painful sort of tugging sensation, before his arm fell into a sort of warm numbness as blood filled up the case. He didn't understand it and it scared him to think that he would have to have this 4 more painfully numbing times. The man stopped drawing and pulled the syringe out from his arm, his skin clung to the needle in a sickening way which made him feel queasy. The blood was emptied into one of the tubes; when it was stoppered the needle once again approached his arm. Naruto wanted to know why he was actually here save for a few blood samples but he was frightened to speak up; he had no idea who he was dealing with. Instead he just resigned himself to harsh pricks, pain and numbness until the tubes were filled. After that… He refused to even imagine what he could be here for.

Sorry it's taking so long. First story and ideas are slow in coming


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the reviews, helped a lot

It was now the second day of Naruto's disappearance. Kakashi was standing in Hokage's room with the other two ANBU; the Hokage was holding a slip of paper addressed to Kakashi detailing the worries Naruto had held in relation to a couple of strangers he had spotted late at night. The letter was half finished-cut off mid-sentence- either by interruption or change of mind. The three ninja had found the slip late at night after scouring the apartment several times. Kakashi's ninja hounds had caught the scent of two unknown people in Naruto's bedroom and bathroom. Those places especially had been searched many times until Kakashi had discovered a corner of the bedroom carpet turned up slightly where it bordered the bathroom door. Upon closer inspection, a piece of a sacrificial tree was revealed to be hiding on the naked floor boards beneath their fluffy cover above. On the way back to report, Kakashi had kept his most used dog-Pakkun- out lest the scent of the strangers re-appear. As they neared an alleyway a couple of corners away from Blondie's house, Pakkun reported smelling the strangers near its entry. There was also an unmistakeable scent of blood wafting out from the narrow corridor; Kakashi thought that it smelled rather like Naruto's. Becoming apprehensive, the three entered the bin lined alley way to find dry, dark red spatters covering the walls and floor. The dog thought that it must have been from around the night before though the exact time would be impossible to tell with just his nose. They did not find the scent of the strangers anywhere in the dark so(assuming that the strangers had not been down here at the same time as their missing nin, and wondering what the hell Naruto had been doing down there they left to report to the Hokage.

Naruto was sitting cross legged on the floor of a dark, otherwise unoccupied prison. The door was a large metal rectangle with no possible way of seeing outside; the walls were of the same dark stone as the repulsive lab that his blood was presumably still sitting in. After the drawing of his liquid insides (which had left him slightly dizzy) Glasses had gone back to his computer and sat typing for a good five minutes. Naruto was bursting to know why the hell he had been brought to this place but every time he thought he had enough courage to speak out, his mind went back to imagining all the gruesome things that could ever be done in a lab. The images stuck in his head no matter how hard he tried to push them out and in the end his nerve failed him and he simply lay in silence until whatever came next. After his research or report or… Whatever it was, had been finished, he cleaned all of his equipment away and put the tube rack with all the vials of bright red gloopy liquid by his computer. He then retrieved a thick metal band -just wider than Naruto's neck, and a strong looking chain from a high shelf. He dropped the chain onto Naruto's stomach – for its size it was surprisingly heavy- and hit some invisible catch on the band, opening it at an unnoticeable seam. The man held the dark metal in one hand and reached towards Naruto's head with the other. Mortified, Naruto tried to squirm away, pushing his head towards the edge of the table. Thanks to his restraints escape was made impossible. Glasses smirked and grabbed a fistful of the bright blond hair, pulling it (along with his head) up towards the ceiling. Naruto bit his lip to stop from moaning as several hairs parted ways with his scalp. He flinched at the touch of cold metal on his neck and then jumped as a resounding click reverberated through his ears. He felt a strange surge of power beneath his chin, and then the band was weighing his neck down as his head was dropped back to the table. Glasses picked up the chain and snapped it into place on a hook protruding from his new necklace. Naruto was now effectively a dog on a leash. The cords had been untied and he had been yanked off of the table and face planted the table. He pulled himself to his feet and unthinkingly glared at the man. Naruto's eye's- sharpened by the Kyuubi's influence without his notice- caught a whirl of movement, too fast for his body to react to, before a sharp pain cut into his cheek. He found himself flying backwards and cried out in pain as the chain yanked down on his neck, half strangling him and sending him crashing down onto the floor. The chain tightened n his neck again and he was hauled to his feet. His cheek was bright red and smarting and every part of him that had contacted the hard surface was slowly coming up in large bruises (not that they would stay long).

"You need to learn to respect your elders Naruto-kun"

The man spoke with a mocking smirk, his whole body language showing that he was in charge of Naruto now and there was nothing that the boy could do about it. Naruto, naturally, was murderous whenever somebody thought that he was the lowest idiot in town and assumed that they could control him, this of course was no exception.

"LEAVE ME ALONE! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!"

Whilst roaring out his disapproval he held onto the chain and executed a powerful jump kick. With a flick of his wrist the man tugged the chain out of Naruto's grip, simultaneously dragging his neck forward and stepping to the side so that Naruto overbalanced and flew head first into the wall. He then strode over and pulled the boy up, bringing their faces only inches away from each other.

"I am Kabuto apprentice to Orochimaru and you, Naruto, no longer have any say in what you do." Kabuto grinned. "You are already in for a multitude of pain, if I were you I wouldn't make it worse for yourself."

Later in his cell Naruto couldn't stop thinking about what Kabuto had said. He already had a very active imagination and the villagers hadn't wasted any time showing him much of the cruel abuse that could be done unto a small defenceless child. He had tried many times to force open the weighty necklace, But no matter how hard he tried it was simply too strong, the catch had also alluded his attempts to find it. He thought of the power he had felt when it had been attached to his neck and had decided that it must have been sealed with the man's chakra yet, try as he might, his own chakra seemed to work just as well as his bare hands. In the village he had put on a weak, stupid front, to lead them into relaxing more around him. He never thought that doing this would lead them to become bold enough to attack him, but when they had he knew that he could not go back on his first impression. He was worried that the villagers would see only more reason to come after him as they would think him more dangerous and make extra attempts to kill him. So he made himself forget. He didn't listen in class and neglected his body to the point that he had to start training senselessly just to complete the most menial techniques. When he had reached 10 he had decided that the attacks weren't worth it and tried to train his body to an elite level. With his previous knowledge down the drain however and his body in bad shape it seemed that it would take years that he might not have to reach a level good enough to run or fight. In the situation he had been placed in now however, he knew that he must do everything he could to get strong enough to fight his captors and leave.


	5. Chapter 5

Two days later he found out that secretly training in his small cell would not be an issue. Kabuto had entered his dank room and informed him that he would in fact be training under the medic himself to… well he was never actually given a reason, but since he had the opportunity he decided (not that he had a choice) to go along with it and hope that maybe one day he would be strong enough to leave and wander back to his village. He wasn't too sure what made him yearn to be home as it had never been good there anyway; something inside him had just hooked onto his apartment, the old man Hokage and his very own dreams of someday taking over from the protective figure.

He was lead to a huge training room filled with straw dummies and various beams arranged at several heights over his head. His chain had been removed for the occasion, though his neck cuff continued to embrace his throat.

"Right Naruto kun," his trainer stood with a kunai in his right hand and an emotionless face. His eyes bored into Naruto's as he began his instructions.

"According to our data your ninja skills are non-existent and your current chakra reserves are less than average. The only thing you do exceed at is an incredible amount of stamina; this can only help you so far."

Naruto of course did not agree with this. For him, he felt that- with his vigorous training every morning, evening and night- he had gotten quite a bit stronger than this man seemed to think, especially now that he had learnt kage bunshin. This was a forbidden technique, Jounin level, and he was proud to have learnt it. Naruto did not speak about his protesting thoughts, deciding instead to shock the man when he got moving.

"To gauge how far you need to go you will first be fighting me."

Without warning he flashed forward, extending his arm to strike the kunai at Naruto's face. Naruto, caught unawares by the speed of movement and the unexpected attack, managed to catch on to what was happening and was able to dive backwards and avoid most of the gleaming weapon. A flash of scarlet followed the trace of silver, leaving a momentary trail in the air. The fresh wound on Naruto's face spurted out blood as he grimaced. When the man came again he was already prepared with an identical kunai in his hand and was ready to guard against the next slice. Naruto expected the man to keep jumping forward, so he was proportionately surprised when Kabuto clashed his hands together and blew out a ball of red hot flames. He recovered his mind enough to quickly use his new favourite technique, using his clone to toss himself out of the path of raging fire. When he had regained his balance he created another 5 clones to charge at Kabuto. The 5 jumped and dodged and fought tooth and nail to try and hit him, they barely lasted 5 seconds. Naruto didn't know what to do. Kabuto was too fast, too strong and too experienced for Naruto to be able to beat him. He knew that Kabuto was just trying to see what he could do but he was out of ideas. He just needed to employ every strategy he could think of against his opponent and try his best to stay standing, his resolve in almost every fight. He even managed to, until Kabuto decided he had had enough. Naruto had slashes all over his tanned skin and bruises galore. His knees were shaking badly from the pain radiating from all over his body; it took no more than a kick to the ankle and a kunai in his shoulder blade to stop him from returning to his feet.

As he lay on the floor panting and shaking, Kabuto set about collecting all of his weapons that had been let loose around the room. As he tugged out the one lodged in Naruto's back, a flare of piercing heat followed it, causing Naruto to hiss and nearly pass out as he gritted his teeth against it. He then felt a slightly cooler, more reassuring heat encase the wound and the stream flowing down his side cease. He kept still; realising he was being healed and not wanting to mess up the man's focus. When the warmth faded away he was able to draw himself into a sitting position, his feet were still a lost cause though. As he checked out some of his worse cuts he realised that they were beginning to close up as well. He wondered if this was to do with the man's influence, though he could not feel the healing touch any longer. He heard a quiet 'clip' at the back of his neck and sighed at the thought of returning to his small cell. The sparring may have been painful but at least he had been able to move, two days of sitting down really made you ache to run again.

"It seems our data was most certainly right. You have no ninja skills save for the occasional ninjutsu, your reactions are slow and you know nothing about strategy. All you have are high stamina levels and, like I said before, they won't help you here."

Naruto stood up and followed Kabuto away down the long corridor without saying a word. He would show them. He would become the strongest shinobi in the world and then he would never be restrained or hurt again. Yes, he would show them.

Sakura stared at the picture of her genin team propped up on her desk, it had been taken shortly after they passed kakashi sensei's test and became full ninja. Sasuke and Naruto had hated each other back then, or so she had thought. After they had discovered Naruto's absence, Sasuke (abnormally silent and expressionless) seemed to have become ever more apart from everyone else. Whereas before he had said at least 1-2 sentences a day, he now had his lips sealed for days on end. She could find no other cause for it than Naruto, she now realised that their constant fighting must have just been a cover for their hidden friendship. She herself-after discovering Naruto's constant beat up's which had, at the time, never been discovered-had decided to become a medical ninja and had gone straight to the Konoha hospital to request it. After a lengthy test they had deemed her compatible and had sent her to be trained with a stern faced doctor who considered teaching to be a waste of time. She sensed that he had become pleased with her progress however as he seemed to be dedicating more effort towards her lessons. The search for Naruto had been terminated this very morning when kakashi finally recognised Orochimaru's scent. Apart from never having found the powerful ninja during previously, the Hokage also new that none of his ninja currently stood a chance of defeating him. The villagers were not upset by this news however. On the contrary, they had stated to celebrate the minute they had heard he was gone. There were long nights of drunk activity and laughing and joking in the streets.

"Stupid monster…" "Should have thrown him away ages ago!" "Imagine the peace now he's disappeared…" Hope whoever it was killed him painfully…"

She herself had never held Naruto in high regard but she could now see how he had kept her team happy and active. Their squad had been put on temporary hold as the Hokage searched for a new team member, but it would never be the same. Sasuke now seemed to be training obsessively as if in compensation for not having Naruto, and they rarely saw Kakashi except for when he decided to teach them something. She had hoped for a while that Naruto would return, after asking Kakashi about Orochimaru she had discovered this as being a lost cause. Naruto would not return unless the Sannin wanted him to. Whilst asking about the ninja she had also broached the subject of why the hell he would want Naruto. Kakashi had thought for a moment before deciding that they had a right to know, she and Sasuke had then listened with growing amazement and slight disbelief as they were told all about the Kyuubi residing inside Naruto, Kakashi kept Naruto's heritage to himself however, believing that they had no reason to know that. She now stared out of the window into thr steadily darkening sky. She hated to think of the pain the loud mouth blond could be going through, yet it always came back to her whenever she was allowed time to think.


	6. Chapter 6

Nine long reddish brown tails thrashed against the moist stone wall with growing impatience. Two furry ears forked out from under long, golden, spiky locks, twisting this way and that too listen for the sound of footsteps clacking against the cold hard floor; pale skinned eyelids held shut in deep concentration. Uzumaki Naruto had changed drastically in the three years since his untimely departure from his home village. Where once cerulean blue eyes had stood clear and proud on his young, tanned, boyish face, red irises now gleamed from underneath thick black eyelashes. In the lack of light from Orochimaru's underground layer his skin had gone from a nice sun kissed tan, to a pale ghostly white. He had long lost the puppy fat of his youth through pain, lack of food and an ageing body. Naruto's person was made mostly of lean, hard muscle which emerged through a black, short sleeved- slightly ragged- top. His trousers were much the same; the hem sat on the top of his foot and around his waist were special pouches for kunai and shuriken. Two razor sharp katana's were slung across his back, attached by their sheaths to a cross harness over his chest, ready to be used in his training; the reason why he was fiddling impatiently in his cell. Through the years Naruto had progressed from fighting, agility and throwing practice with Kabuto to outright bloody fighting with Orochimaru. At first the fights had lasted barely ten seconds and had left him with deep gashes covering his skin; they vanished a few seconds after the fight. With extra training in his cell (mostly just muscle building as he did not have much room) and rigorous exercises during training practice, he was able to increase his fights from ten seconds to ten minutes, from there it just kept growing and growing. In the last half of his third year Naruto had started to come out with minor to no injuries whilst the Sannin had begun to acquire many bruises and slashes from Naruto's swords. The snake had also healed quickly and Naruto was not sure how this happened, as Naruto –with his very acute senses- could tell that no medical ninjutsu was being used. He had once overheard something about immortality experiments but he could not imagine how that was possible. Not long after his arrival he had been told about the Kyuubi sealed deep inside of him, as well as the father that did it. He had been shocked and disoriented, before finally managing to put his life together. This was why the villagers despised him so! Why he was shunned and ridiculed no matter what he said or did! Surprisingly he had not been angry at the ninja's he looked up to, Iruka sensei, Kakashi sensei or the third, or even his father. The villagers were wrong, he knew that. He had done nothing to deserve their distrust and hatred; it was not his fault that a giant fox had been sealed inside of him. But he was not angry; he was finally at peace with himself and his father. He had marvelled for days over that particular revelation, amazed that he was the son of the revered hero. After many attempts (on prompting from his captors where failed attempts meant excruciating pain) he had finally managed to seek out he feared Kyuubi and had demanded power off him to help with his secret goal, and to stop their stupid knives and other various instruments of torture which he constantly had to push out of his thoughts. After a few evil and sarcastic comments which did not affect Naruto in the slightest due to his unfortunate situation, the fox had agreed to help him; the needles hurt him also. The two had become very quickly acquainted as they had much to suffer through together. The fox would have tried to make a getaway very soon after their first meeting, all Naruto had to do was remove the seal that repressed him behind huge golden gates; if only it had been so easy. Ever since the creeps had learned of Naruto's success his life had been surrounded in seals. His cell, the lab, corridors and the training room had all been infused with various sealing techniques to keep the Kyuubi tucked away along with the chain around his neck. This one was only activated if Naruto used the Kyuubi's power more than necessary e.g. if he tried to make an escape attempt… Or kill one of his only visitors. Apart from the seals in his collar and the training room, the others (much to the foxes delight) stopped any demonic chakra being used at all. Therefore Naruto relished the time that he was allotted to train in as it was the most freedom he ever got any more. Then there was the lab.

Naruto's current appearance had slowly come about through torturous tests and funny looking, searing liquids. His tails had slowly grown one after another during many long sessions of writhing on a blood soaked table. His ears and eyes had morphed from the beginning to the forth tail wherein they were complete. When his tails were all accounted for and the pain had dissipated, Naruto had started to use them in his fighting. He used them to throw and catch weapons or to catch his opposition and throw them across the room, each one of his nine tails were stronger than both of his arms so they were used very often. This came in handy when he was fighting multiple opponents as Orochimaru had often put him against other test subjects or loyal fighters. Naruto had not particularly wanted to kill them but even when all their arms and legs were cut off they still tried to kill him. Not that they could, but Naruto had decided to put them out of their misery and save them from any more lab trips. Naruto might have done it to himself long ago but he had never been the sort of person to give up, he would get out and he would return. The fact that no one had ever come after him had put a damper on his motivation to return to Konoha, but the bunker was almost impossible to find (he had reasoned), it wasn't surprising that no one had got in. After all _he_ couldn't even get _out_. He had realised from his fights with Orochimaru and his subjects that he was quite a bit above Jonin level now. If he could do some damage to an _apparently _legendary Sannin (he had been told this but he still wasn't sure he believed it) then surely he was reaching Kage level.

Naruto and the Kyuubi had been examining the seals since they were placed around him. They grew confident that they knew what they were and how they were made, so much so that they started to conjure up ways to counteract them. The fox had shared his deep knowledge of fuinjutsu and how various people had come up with and counteracted seals used in wars or everyday life. This information helped the blond to think of new seals that could be laced over previous ones to weaken or break them. They were nearly ready.

Sakura sighed for what felt like the zillionth time that day. Her teammates were going through another bought of silence where they wouldn't talk again for nearly a week. Sure they would work together when they had to; their teamwork was fine as long as they never needed to communicate with words. It was so childish and Sakura didn't think she could take it for the rest of her life. After the three had become chunin a year ago they had split to doing missions with anyone who needed it. After a while the Hokage (now the fifth as the third had died of a severe stroke not long after they had become journeyman ninja) had put all three back together with their former Jonin sensei to run missions as she thought it would be more productive that way. The thirds death had been a devastating affair and everyone had turned up to honour him at his funeral, they had all known that he would not last forever but people like him gave you the illusion that they would never leave. The new Hokage was a 50 year old woman who was an iryonin and very strong. She had taken on Sakura as a subordinate after she had begged for help to become stronger so that she could actually _do_ something for once instead of just standing back and watching it happen. Sakura still believed that Naruto was alive and that one day they could find him. She had asked many times to go out and find him but her pleas fell on deaf ears, the village needed all the shinobi it had to complete the missions it was given which meant no worthless hope trips. Team seven had been given a new teammate half a year after Naruto had gone, Sasuke did not like her at all and so Sakura was left to try and keep them together. It wasn't that the new person was annoying or anything, it was just that they felt she was stealing Naruto's place and ruining his image. Sakura suspected that Sasuke didn't like her because she was _good_. She really knew how to be a ninja and bested him in most of their practice fights which always turned very serious very fast. But she could only guess at that as Sasuke didn't like to speak or show any emotion. She had tried to make friends with the recent addition but her efforts fell hard. The girl was marginally outgoing and friendly enough but she always seemed like she was itching to stab something and didn't seem like she wanted to stay talking to someone for very long. She had come one night claiming to come from a coast side village that she had escaped from when her parents were killed. She had been training herself up as shinobi since the age of nine. When she was rendered homeless she had fled the village and travelled in the wilderness for days with minimal food and water. She had not known where they were when they had emerged from the trees by Konoha but when she had discovered that it was a ninja village she had asked to join the forces. After a thorough interrogation she had been allowed to join the best suited rank. After testing they had decided to put her at Genin level though she would soon be ready to move up. They all did when the chunin exams arrived. The girl had pitch black hair in layers that reached down just past her shoulders and green-brown eyes that were always ringed with black eyeliner that stood out against her snow white skin. She was a major Goth, and so almost never wore anything but black (the exception lay in the silver of the headband which she was not allowed to paint). Yukiko and Sasuke were just finishing their last fight which had become silent after they had both used the same sized fireball- That was how Sasuke got annoyed- and had both been blasted back into trees on the opposite side of the training grounds. Flying into a very leafy tree had ruined Yukiko's hair and that was (in her messed up opinion) the greatest offence. Now they had resorted to close Taijutsu and ferocious Kenjutsu with which they seemed to constantly come very close to killing each other. Kakashi was sitting nearby reading one of his make out books and didn't seem to care. She could understand; they did this too often for it to worry him anymore. As she watched, Yukiko managed to slip her Kunai underneath Sasuke's armpit from behind so that he could get to her. She grinned slyly as Sasuke jumped away and stalked off in annoyance. Kakashi closed up his book with a snap and announced their training over for the day. Sakura gathered up her stuff to leave but was stopped by Yukiko who waved for attention as she hopped over.

"Hey Sakura… I know you don't really like this topic but I wanted to know about your old teammate. I know that since I got here you have acted like I was intruding and, well… I thought it would go away with time but it just seems to have strengthened after the chunin exams and I wanted to know why. Did he run away and betray you or something?"

For a moment Sakura was furious. How could she even suggest that! But she managed to control herself and think the girl's sentence over. When she looked at it from that perspective she realised that Yukiko was right. Though she thought that all her hostility towards Yukiko had gone, she realised that it had simply been got used to until she no longer thought of it any more. After the chunin exams the two former members of team 7 had gotten even more upset without noticing that they had both wanted Naruto to come through this day with them, first becoming Genin and then Chunin together. So Sakura reasoned that the girl had the right to know why he was so important. She wasn't sure that she herself knew the reason, but she would give it a try.


	7. Chapter 7

I race beneath the trees, terror clouding my mind as I hear them closing in behind me; their paws thudding rhythmically on the ground. Autumn had taken over the woods, leaves littered the forest floor and I hear them skitter about as I race for the privilege to live. I know that I am near my home, yet as I try to change direction I realise that they have me surrounded.

There is nowhere to go but forward.

My breath comes in frightened little gasps as I know that there is no way out of this, I am dead. I skid to a stop as I come a metre short of running off a cliff edge. I whip around and stare at my hunters.

They emerge from the trees. There are six of them, all sauntering slowly, approaching me as I stand frozen in fear of their killer intent. I was sure that there were more of them when the chase began; nine, maybe ten when they first sought me out. They must have split, the others making sure that no-one interfered; there would be no help for me, no-one would even try. A throaty chuckle comes from the right as they feel me give up; we both know that there is nothing I can do. Five of them stop in their advance and hover at the edge of the woods whilst the apparent leader keeps coming.

He is in no hurry as he savers the fear rolling off me in hopeless waves. Ginger hair fills my view and I shut my eyes, preparing for the worst. A 'whoosh' of wind flows past. Several twigs start to snap from inside the forest. The one striding towards me stops, startled. They start to back away; an unanticipated enemy had arrived. They were worriedly glancing behind them, crouching low to avoid being seen. I came to my senses, took my chance, and ran.

Naruto had stopped trying to keep quiet not long after he had left the hideout. He didn't have time to erase his scent or cover his tracks, so he saw no point in hiding or slowing to stop them from hearing him. Kabuto had lead him back to his cell just after a vigorous training session with the Sannin. He had heard the two talking as they left to experiment in one of their labs. They had apparently thought him ready for the next stage of their plan due to his adept control of the Kyuubi and his own ability to fight. He knew that his window to leave was closing fast and figured that there was no time like the present. He waited for about half an hour until he was sure that they were as engrossed in their work as possible for a suitable delay, hopefully they wouldn't notice his seals were missing until they had been informed of his departure. With that hopeful thought he closed his eyes and completed the preparations that he and the fox had weaved through for several weeks. All the replacement seals were there waiting to jam the current ones, all he had to do was join them together and then break out. Which he did as fast as was ninja/animally possible.

After disabling his guards with a sharp knock to the back of their necks, and a genjutsu to keep them under, he ran between the stone walls for the nearest exit. This was made difficult by the fact that he had never been shown where the exits were and therefore could be running straight to the very men he was trying to avoid. He knew where some of the labs were but that didn't mean that they were all in the same section. It was said that no one had ever managed to leave the base of the snake; still, he had an advantage over the unfortunate souls who had tried their hand at escaping. He had a very sensitive fox on his side who was adept at sniffing out his freedom. He could sniff his way to fresh air and open spaces, his ears would listen for miles in every direction. So he ran and ran, following the fresher tunnels as opposed to faint whiffs of blood and quiet whimpering that met him at the entrances he passed at various intersections. A few times he heard people walking ahead of him as they patrolled the corridors, but he had no choice than to carry on and take them down. He couldn't wait and he couldn't turn around. A trail of blood followed him but he didn't mind; it wasn't exactly hard to figure out where he would go. The fresh air grew around him and through the darkness a hatch took form at the end of the tunnel. He was still several metres away but through the fox he had gained a useful ability to see in the dark beyond any natural human ability. He heard a shout far behind him and guessed from the direction that the first body had been found. He would have to hurry now. As he reached the hatch he discovered several seals woven in and around his only exit. Some were to warn of an intruder-they would also go off should someone leave without permission-some were set to explode if not deactivated first-fortunately Naruto could take them down quick enough-and lastly there were two seals that worked along the lines of the ones that he had got rid of around his cell which made sure that he couldn't get out by himself.

Naruto thought for a few precious seconds before getting to work on the easier ones. Thankfully, he knew how to deal with the ones keyed to the fox's chakra but even so they took at least 10 minutes to get rid of. He estimated that he had around 5 minutes until the guards caught up with him. He had been laying several traps as he ran through the halls, he could only hope that those would delay them for long enough. Just as he thought that he heard one of his most flashy seals go off along with screams of agony as the target was grievously burned. Finally the smaller seals were gone. He sunk into concentration as he started disabling the seal created for his personal use, blocking out the running footsteps and occasional explosions.

"We have received a request from the feudal lord's sister-in-law. It is an escort mission to the land of rice paddies where she wishes to stay for a few months. She must be protected from bandits and possibly ninja threats, though they shouldn't be any higher than Chunin. His mission is classed as a C rank and will begin in an hour, you will be expected to protect her until she reaches her destination at which point you can return home." Tsunade looked upon the four ninja as each nodded their consent. "Get going then, she will meet you at the gate." Sasuke followed Kakashi out of the door and headed towards his house to prepare for a week long journey plus extras (just in case). His apartment was rather bare and undecorated; it held only a picture of his team, both old and new. He looked upon the face of his rather brief teammate who was baring his teeth at a scowling Sasuke. Something had changed within Sasuke when the hyper blonde had been taken. Though he had never paid much attention to any of his academy classmates, Naruto had been different. While everyone had always been aware that he came from an elite (currently endangered) clan of Uchiha's, Naruto hadn't seemed to give a damn and fought with Sasuke as he would with any other. Any other guy just downplayed what they could do so that the match would be over quickly whilst all the girls fawned over him and agreed with everything he might say. Naruto however, was purely himself and constantly tried to catch up to Sasuke and make everyone acknowledge him. When Naruto had left, he had taken any chance of Sasuke ever having a _real_ friend. He was happy with talking to the other members of the former rookie nine, but they could only be acquaintance/friends at best. Sasuke shook his head and forced his mind stop brooding. Nevertheless…he _would _save Naruto from that snake bastard who had kidnaped him.

He was free! Free as a bird. He felt as though he might sprout wings as he (metaphorically) flew by the trees. Animals retreated behind bushes or flapped away, startled, as he followed an overgrown forest trail. He veered away from the trail as it came close to the edge of the trees which ringed a cliff edge where he would be trapped by Orochimaru's subordinates. He may have gotten out, but if he dallied about then –worst case scenario-Orochimaru himself would show up and manage to take him back. But he had already decided: either he was getting away or he was going to die trying. He raced a rabbit deeper into the woods. He hadn't seen a rabbit in three years; they didn't like snakes (along with every other animal). He heard the tell-tale rush of wind and he took to the trees as a kunai thudded into the earth where his foot had just been. He stole a peek behind him as he saw that there was no sign of Orochimaru or his stupid side kick Kabuto. He hoped to reach the leaf village before they arrived, and he did not appreciate being delayed. '_Twenty of them, mostly high Chunin/low Jonin level though there are some higher level Jonin's mixed in. I need to be quick with this'. _He threw a volley of kunai into the surrounding area. Seals exploded as the ninja's closest to him found themselves popping their clogs a bit earlier than they may have liked. He had made sure to throw his wire when the front line was in mid-jump, creating an inescapable death trap. He had to stop moving then; during his preoccupation the rest of his opponents had spread around him and enclosed him in a lose circle. He rolled his eyes and decided that if he was going to get away and still have enough of a head start from _the real deal_ then he was going to have to get serious with this lot. Just then his ears picked up sounds coming from the direction in which he was headed. They were walking at a slightly slow pace, which was probably to compensate for the horse and carriage that he could hear rolling in their midst. They didn't sound threatening but they were heading straight for an impending (hopefully quick) battle. He didn't want innocent people to get hurt.


	8. Chapter 8

Kakashi's ears twitched and he quickly raised his hand, the procession behind him halted and Sasuke appeared at his side.

"Do you hear that?" Kakashi murmured.

Sasuke listened for a moment, his head tilted slightly to the side.

"He means the battle baka; can't you hear the clashing and thudding of ninja activity?" It was his Uchiha genes that kept Sasuke's face smoothed out in a calm, superior façade, as Yukiko's voice invaded his personal space where before there had been only air.

"Urusai, of course I can hear it. I just don't see the need of stating everything I find out." Sasuke's mind flashed to a certain blonde who had done exactly that, but he wrenched his thoughts away from those unwanted memories.

"Maa, you two don't start now, this could be serious. We all need to be on guard. Sasuke, Sakura you two stay here and look after the client. Yukiko, we'll go check out what's happening." At this Yukiko turned around and stuck her tongue out at Sasuke in a very childish manner (_he_ certainly dismissed it as a very stupid move from a very stupid person) and hoped off into the trees, which lined the road they were treading, after Kakashi. Sasuke sighed-inaudibly _of course_-and went to explain the situation to the client.

'_Finally' _thought Naruto as he dispatched the last idiot who had dared to engage him in battle. He delved into their weapons pouch which was still mostly full as this one hadn't been too involved with the fighting. He himself had run out of weapons, and this method was faster than running around the clearing retrieving his own. Smells wafted into his nostrils along with slightly concealed chakra signs. His back stiffened as he recognised what he was smelling '_snake'; _he was off again in an instant hoping that he could be quick enough to get away. More human smells and life signs came from his right and he recognised them from the people he had sensed earlier. They were nearing the fighting…perhaps they would stall his pursuers whilst he continued in his search for his old home. At any rate, he had to get far enough away from their meeting place so that by the time they arrived they would no longer be able to hear his movements.

Kakashi and Yukiko jumped into a butchered clearing. Every blade of grass, tree trunk and individual leaf on said trees were covered in dark red liquid which still flowed from mutilated bodies. There were trees lying left, right and centre; it certainly wasn't a natural clearing. There were headbands strewn all over the floor which had been torn from unfortunate ninja's, more often than not the head band was still tied on…the head, however, had been less lucky. They didn't get much time to process the disturbing scene which had greeted them however as, moments later, a slight stirring of wind could be heard in the still air as two life forms appeared in the trees opposite Kakashi. Three of them pulled out their various weapons whilst the fourth –a tall pale man with long dark hair- simply stood with a serious, slightly angry expression on his face. Kakashi recognised him instantly.

"Orochimaru!" He spat the name out with an invisible grimace, as if the name had left a foul taste on his tongue. The white haired man beside him rolled his weight onto his left foot, impatient to get moving. '_To start fighting? Or maybe they're chasing whoever made this mess?' _Kakashi wondered.

"We don't have time to fight you today sharingan Kakashi." Said the smaller grey haired man said. "Please continue with your mission."

As Kakashi turned his glare upon the ninja he found that he recognised the frustrated face that had pleaded with him to budge. There was no flicker of recognition that flashed in Kakashi's eyes; he simply filed the information away for later when he could analyse it fully.

A sharingan user would never turn away from an S class missing ninja and his highly trained accomplice because they implied in a deadly voice (with mountains of killing intent) that they were busy.

"Where is Naruto?" he added a bit of his own KI into the mix to even the tension. Now, a good ninja never gives away ANYTHING with his body language. Like Kakashi, they stay in one place and talk in an even voice with no hand gestures until it is time to fight. What Kabuto did next was unexpected, easily picked up on and against all ninja rules. Kabuto is certainly an excellent ninja, so why he allowed his eyes to flicker to the carnage around him and back to meet Kakashi's own in about half a second is an unknown and confusing question which began to whirl around in bot of the Konohan ninja's minds. Was he trying to help them? He was after all –as Kakashi had remembered after scouring the man's face- a fellow Konoha ninja. Perhaps he was spying on Orochimaru for the Hokage. Either way questions had to be asked.

"D-did Naruto do this?" stuttered Yukiko.

Orochimaru's angry look turned annoyed and he muttered to Kabuto, "We don't have time for this", before rushing at the surprised ninja blocking his path. Kakashi held up his weapons in a defensive position and saw Yukiko do the same as she tried to block the senbon wielders advance. Kakashi tried to discover a way out of their situation without diving to the side and losing track of their only link to his sensei's son. Alas, escape was to be impossible and as the black haired man jumped onto him, their fight began.

Naruto breathed heavily as e looked around himself with bleary eyes. He could neither see nor sense anyone around his person and so he decided that he had come far enough for the day. He had had no sleep for the past two nights due to escape plans (and the actual escaping). He had no idea where he was, but since he did not feel any villages or open areas near-by, he deemed himself safe enough in his secluded spot and settled down to rest for a few hours. He would find Konoha in the morning.

Author's notes

SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG! I got stuck for ages in the middle and couldn't think of anything to write. Thank you for all the reviews so far though, they have helped a lot with motivation! I will try to get the next chapter up sooner.


	9. Chapter 9

Kakashi's mouth twitched into a grimace as he and Sasuke avoided another barrage of kunai and shurikan. They were losing the fight rather quickly, especially since Yukiko had run of into the forest. It was true that Sasuke had advanced far above his skills during the three years he had spent learning Uchiha secrets and copying techniques from countries all over the world, but even he couldn't match up to Orochimaru of the Sannin. He had done a damn good job of holding him off so far though. Kakashi himself was around the same level as Kabuto, if not a bit better. Together they were currently managing to keep themselves alive and stop the evil bastards from going after Naruto. They might even have been able to drive the pair back; had Yukiko stayed.

She had waited until Sasuke had successfully distracted Orochimaru and Kabuto was busy locking kunai with Kakashi before making her escape. She now travelled a high speeds through the forest, following unhidden tracks that wound around thick trunks which stood to attention as she passed. She guessed that Naruto must have been running like a madman clutching to life to have left these distinctive markers, she decided that he must have been using copious amounts of chakra to push himself further away from the carnage behind him and further from his jailers. His was indicated by the deep footprints left engraved into the tree branches, burnt around the edges.

She stopped suddenly quite a few miles from the fight that she hoped was still raging back at the clearing; the trail had ended with a large arm dangling from its splintered shoulder. She inspected the ground below it and found the prints from his landing; he had stood there for a minute or two before moving on to …where?

She wandered round the main body and all of the ground and branches close enough to jump to (even with a huge burst of chakra aiding your feet there was only so far you could go) before reaching the conclusion that he had decided that he _really_ didn't want to be caught and had hidden all indications of his journey. He had been weaving all over the dense green foliage so it was hard to determine the exact direction he had been travelling in. He had continually returned to the same heading however. If her internal map was anything to go by-and she did pride herself in being an insufferable know-it-all, except from when it came to battle plans- he was fleeing in the general direction of Konoha; his old home.

Naruto rolled over in his sleep causing his back to leave the tree he had been resting against. His face landed in a pile of twigs and small pointy stones.

"Gah!" He exclaimed as the rough surfaces scraped against his cheek. His eyes flashed open and he took in the area around him with wonder. The memories of the past day came back to him. He had finally escaped, and no-one had caught up to him! He had been running blindly through the forest as he tried to put as much distance between the approaching enemies and… whoever the other people had been, before realising that there was no point in running from experienced shinobi if you weren't going to be clever about it. He had realised that if he were going to be out of there clutches for good then it would be best to leave nothing for anyone to follow. For about a mile or two behind he had left as little a trail as was possible for someone of his ability.

Even so it seemed that someone had picked the right direction (that or he had not been as careful as he had thought). His hypersensitive ears were picking up the light footsteps of an able bodied shinobi. The wind blew his way and with it, the scent of one of the ninja who had been guarding the caravan the day before. He cursed and fled from his resting place. As he left the ground he noticed a dry ache rubbing up and down his throat; he really needed to find some water before he dried himself up.

The river was easy to find, if the rushing of water over rocks and through small crevices was anything to go by. He had abandoned his original destination in favour of a small side path where he was hoping he could lose his follower. He had decided that they must have picked up his trail on the basis that he would head somewhere he believed safe; so he averted his course. The water was soothing as it flowed down his throat and he let out a deep sigh of appreciation when he had had his fill. He loved the feeling of doing what he wanted when he wanted. He had snagged a few rabbits to eat along the way and now he hid their bones in the foliage. It was only a temporary cover but it would certainly give him some time if a confused opponent was looking for clues. His animal instincts –acquired from experiments and long exposure from the fox- allowed him to care little about eating raw meat, on the contrary he quite enjoyed it. Ahhhhhh freedom. He revelled in the feeling of not being dragged into a lab when he was half asleep for 'check ups' that caused him to be stuck full of pins that left him bruised for… well not that long actually thanks to the fox; but that wasn't the point. He lay back and fell into his thoughts, hoping to have some time before he would have to move again.

He thought about his home and what it had been like before he had left. He knew his memories weren't all happy when it came to konoha but he did have a few good moments. When he passed the graduation exam after failing, getting tricked by one of his teachers and having to beat up said teacher when his other teacher was in danger, being put on a team with Sakura who kept punching him every time he tried to deliver his feelings to her, when he passed the second test that led to him becoming a genin and then being left tied to a post for the rest of the afternoon until Kakashi had remembered he was there and came back to untie him…Damn were those ropes tight. The he thought about it the worse his idea seemed. Why should he return to a place where the villagers hated his guts and his newly formed relationships left him for dead at Orochimaru's various hide-outs? What was the point of throwing himself back into something that was really not that much better than the place he had just left? A new idea formed in his mind. He enjoyed being outside after all those years underground and he enjoyed not having to be anywhere or having any obligations to attend to. He could live on his own, travelling where he wanted to, avoiding Orochimaru and Konoha and anyone else that might be looking for him. He didn't know if Konoha would be looking for him mind but it was best to be on the safe side. He smiled slightly as he thought of all the fun things he could mess with…

Sasuke cursed as his body was placed in the back of the caravan they had been protecting. Sakura had disobeyed orders and ran to the fight just in time to create a distraction and haul the two injured leaf shinobi out of there. The snake freak hadn't even tried to follow, instead running into the forest to hunt down Naruto. Kabuto had been wounded as much as Sasuke but had still managed to tend his injuries whilst following his creepy master. He desperately wanted to search for Naruto but they had to get back to Konoha and get fixed up. Their client was kindly giving them a lift back and would then get another team of shinobi to escort him to his land. Sasuke just hoped that Naruto would be smart enough to find refuge in Konoha. Sasuke closed his mind and imagined a happy Naruto, safe within the gates of his home…

I'M SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG! All my exams have started and there is so much revision to do but I will try to keep more regular updates. Just waiting for the summer when I'll have all the time in the world… thank you for all your reviews so far, they are helping greatly! Please keep reviewing my story, I will be happy to hear your views.


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